Friday, September 24, 2010

Birthday Bash!

 For the last couple of weeks I’ve been a bit busy and tied up, I’m hoping some of you noticed, well there were many reasons, but to keep a long story short, I shall blame it all on my, recently turned, 4 year old daughter, thank you thank you. First it was her various infections, I don’t know if it is with all kids or just her that she picks up all the viral and bug infections floating around the city. But the core reason I was tied up, was cause she made me promise her a “BIG” birthday party (In her words), in exchange of her taking her medicines and letting me put her eye drops as per schedule! I dint have a choice you see.
As it is planning a kid’s party is a tough job, now I had to do it as she says! So from the venue to the menu I had to get her approval and then her dad’s, after all he was the financer! As compared to our parties, I think and now I even know, after 4 years, that its more tough to work out their parties, coz in case I miss out on something for my friends, its ok, we are more relaxed and chilled, we meet to gossip not to gobble, but with kids you have to make sure they everything is right for them, starting with the invite, then they have to like the place, have something interesting to do, eat right, and enjoy otherwise all our mehnat (hard work) goes down the drain. Basically they should not get bored and have lots of fun activities to keep them occupied.
After spending so much time and energy on organizing the event, I thought why not share it with you guys and even ask for more pointers to be considered next year while organizing the party again! I also realized that the whole thing with a kid’s party can be just as easy or as complicated as you're willing to make it. Just remember a few simple rules for planning a children's birthday party.
You could start with the guest list, (trust me don’t ask your kid whom all he/she wants, as this can make the list never-ending!)  then accordingly set a budget and also make a list of possible venues available in your city.
Budget
Ofcourse this needs to be done first and in accordance with it all your other planning will follow up. Set an amount that you are willing to spend on the party and also allocate funds for all other purposes.
Guest list
You could add as many guests as you like, but then be prepared to splash that kind of money. Ideally your guest list should be a mix and a balance at the same time. For example if your party is for a 10 year old kid, it should have only children, but if your child is in the age group of 1-5 years then it would be a good idea to invite either parents or their caretakers with them.
Here try and avoid kids who don’t gel well with your child, like in my case, my daughter was disappointed that I had invited an unavoidable cousin of hers for the party.
Venue
Keeping the budget and the guest age group in mind you can select your place. In case you want to keep it at your place there are also lots of options available these days. You could choose to celebrate the birthday anywhere from your own garden or your local garden, or you could also use your terrace area, or just use your house. Incase your room sizes are small, then use separate rooms for the kids and parents! There are buildings which allow residents to entertain in their garage, basement or terraces too. You should check with the concerned authorities though.
For those who want to keep the party outdoors, you have various options too. From regular Pizza and Burger joints to food courts and ofcourse your neighborhood hotels also have banquet halls and party areas.
I personally like doing it at the home; it gives you much scope for making it special and entertaining at the same time.
Theme
More recently the word “theme parties” has cropped up like mushrooms, and now a days, there this other word I’m coming across more often “Flavor”. Well call it what you wish, but themes can me as varied and as diverse as your imagination.
You could opt for basic themes or flavors, like colors to numbers (age of the birthday child), to more exotic as World tomorrow, Royal Kingdom or anything as elaborate as you can imagine. Then there are the all time favorites like Disney characters, Ben Ten for boys and Hanna Montana for the girls. My 8year old niece tells me Barbie is “Oh so old fashioned”!
For older kids, you could use your child’s favorite book or movie for the same and then incorporate its reading or watching in the party too.
It is also a good idea to use the season or any other festival that happens to fall in the same period as the party theme too. Like for example in India, in the months of July and August monsoons are a favorite choice. During Diwali and Navratri you could keep a more traditional idea.
But all in all do sit down and ask your child what she/he wants specifically wants. You could ask the child to give 2-3 ideas as to what a party should have as per him and then finalize the theme. Sometimes kids want something specific like clowns or tattoo makers, you could either hire professionals or just get someone you know to do it for you.

Invite
You will need to send written invitations to your child’s friends with whom you don’t have personal or telephonic contacts with. Even otherwise it is a nice way to announce your party and also introduce the guests to the theme and set the mood of the party too.  People will also not be confused in regards with the date time and venue of your celebrations too, so it is a nice idea to send a written invite rather than an oral one.
There are lots of ready made options available in the market but keep in mind your theme and them select the one that best fits your requirement. There are also lots of options available on the net that can be downloaded and printed too; these can also be personalized to suit your requirements.
You could also make the invites on your own if you start planning early on. For example if your theme is Balls, send a fancy transparent bag with lots of small balls and circular chocolates with it and write the party details on top of the bag.
Incase you want your theme to be monsoons inviting kids with an umbrella printed with the required details on the underside is also doable.

Décor
The décor of your venue should be corresponding to the theme of the party. It would be very convenient to hire professionals in this too, but then if that was the case you would not be reading my blog! So for decorations you could use balloons, balls, cut outs, ribbons, toys etcetera etcetera. Incase of a movie or book theme, get large cut outs made from the pictures available and set up a projection area, away from all the noise and chaos.
These days, the market is virtually filled with novel and unique decoration ideas just find something that suits your purpose and mood. Using some imagination and creativity, you are sure to create a strikingly stunning look for the room. After all, it is a very special day that comes just once a year. just once a year.


Games
Games again will vary as per the age group and also the theme of the party. Though some favorite kid party games are more or less in lines of musical chair (substitute chair for a parcel), four corners (named with relevance to your theme, eg. For a jungle themed party corners can be named as animals), or a simple Simon Says for your little tot’s friends.
The trick is to keep it simple and easy to follow for younger kids, and a bit of skill and luck based too. But in the end all kids should be happy, so don’t give away gifts to only some; all should be awarded for participating.

Food
Now for my favorite part, my daughter did not want to serve food only! But try to keep your menu in accordance with the party time. Serve finger foods and easy to eat foods if the kids are unaccompanied but don’t forget something to drink, after all the play and fun I’m sure they will be famished and will gobble up whatever you serve.



This is a never ending subject, I just think I will have to write individually on each topic so as to be able to give more and also receive more helpful hints. Don’t forget to share your experiments and experiences with me. I would also like to know which topic I should start with first. FOOD?





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 Image Credit Google Images.

5 comments:

  1. I know who to email or contact now when i need one ofthese party organised ....

    but the info is great... I had to organice for my niece so i took the easier way out.. go to Wacky warehouse.. tell them how many kids they d oeverything :) you pay per head abou 7-8 pounds ...

    and they do a good job, entertainers adn all inlcuded you jsut have to take your Cake with you he heh ehe :)

    but i must confess, every year My dad was so goood he organised a b'day party for me everyyear even when i was in college :)

    nice post

    ReplyDelete
  2. great guide for future reference ;) hey u have a blogerzoom button/widget on ur blog which is a trojan as my anti virus tells me. check it out and remove it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I m sure i commented on this earlier tooo.. dont know what happened to that one.. well a good post giving a lot of info ..

    Now i know who to email when i need help I hope you dont charge :)

    Bikram's Blog

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Bikramjit,I'm sorry, had a problem with my connection was not able to moderate yr comment any earlier. I know its easier to get a professional to do the organizing, some people like me enjoy doing it on their own. I love the planning and preparations that go into it all.

    @Reema, thanks dear. will defntly check it out. Maybe thats why I'm having all these hang-up these days.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Bikramjit, no i dont charge at all, instead it will be a pleasure to share some of my ideas and get yours in turn too.

    ReplyDelete

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